Motherboard question

[s37]

Hi folks, returning member here. Well, it's that time again, time to start thinking about building a new PC. Looks like I am going to base this system around an AMD Athlon 64 X2 AM2 processor, probably in the 6000+ range.

I am looking for advice on a motherboard that would work well with this processor. I have used ASUS products exclusively in the past, but would take some advice about other brands. Looking for the best performer of them really.

I have been looking at that ASUS Crosshair board, the Deluxe SLI board. Looks pretty good, sounds powerful, but I am curious about the SLI portion. If the board is set up for SLI, does that mean I HAVE to use 2 video cards or will this board perform the same with just one video card? I guess what I am asking is, if I get this board and use only one vid card in it, will the board perform poorly?

As far as RAM, i'm looking at the Corsair XMS DDR2 ram, probably a 2x2GB set. Don't really know which ram to go with though. Choices are, so far:

TwinX 2x2048 6400C4 (enthusiast)
Twinx 2x2048 8500C5D (Overclocker)
TwinX 2x2048 8888C4DF (Extreme)

Now, i'm not an overclocker, dont want to incurr the extra expense of adding more fans and heat protection, besides, i'm generally happy with the performance of a "stock clocked" system. Nevertheless, for performance sake, which memory would you suggest, for my situation?

Lastly, the case. I like Antec cases. They generally have good solid construction, and the True Power PSU's in them have been rated to be pretty good. I think Antec has a new PSU out now, but I am curious about how much power I am going to need? I was thinking about the 700 watt PSU, but wondering if I should go higher? This system will not be overly equipped. Will be:

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 AM2 @ 6000+
4GB Ram
1 DVD R/RW drive
1 CDROM or DVDROM drive
74GB or 150GB Western Digital Raptor SATA150 10,000RPM HDD
ASUS GeForce 8800GTS video card
NIC card (not sure, use NIC card or onboard ethernet adapter?)
Sound card (not decided if I want to put one in or just use the onboard sound)
Zalman CPU fan

Other than that, there won't be any LED lights or extra stuff like that.

Also, as far as the video card goes, again, i've used ASUS in the past, but what do you folks think of the XFX or BFG, or EVGA cards?

I plan on doing some looking through Toms hardware and AnAndTech for component reviews, but would like some word of mouth input too.

Thanks.

[CrowdAds]

[CK8-04]

Why not an Intel system? Intel's C2Ds are faster and more energy efficient clock for clock than AMD processors.

As far as the power supply goes, here's a quote from this thread:

Gotta say I was rather suprised when i found out how little my power hungry (or so I thought) system actually draw. Xeon 3060@3GHz, 2GB RAM@835MHz, 8800GTS 320MB OC, 1*250, 2*500GB HDD´s, 2*DVDRW +6*120mm fans and a 620HX PSU. Peakload so far is at 260W from the wall socket whole playing MOO Airborne demo.

For sure I knew a 620W psu was overkill but 260W peakload was not what I was expecting.

You may also want to take a look at this article. In short, your proposed system won't draw anywhere near half of 700 watts. My recommendation for a PSU would be something from Corsair or Seasonic. They are known for having very good efficiency and very quiet fans.

You made a good choice for a case manufacturer. I have 2 Solos and 1 P180 and couldn't be happier. Those 2 cases would be my recommendations. They are very well thought out and sound dampening and airflow are excellent.

[s37]

Well, as far as why not use an Intel chip, I guess I've been using AMD for a long time now, they have always been good chips, usually more powerful for less money. I'm not opposed to intel, and i'll do some looking around at comparable intel chips.

I had one other question, however. I had always been an Athlon user, but have read some stuff that suggests that the Opteron series might actually be a better chip, even for gaming. Did I read this wrong or is this correct?

The reason I was suggesting a 700watt power supply, well, I have heard some rumors in the past that the new video cards coming out were power hogs, and that to run them, and the rest of your system, you needed to have a pretty power supply of power. I may not opt for the 700w, but I have been looking at the 500w supplies, both the antec and corsair look good.

[CK8-04]

Well, as far as why not use an Intel chip, I guess I've been using AMD for a long time now, they have always been good chips, usually more powerful for less money. I'm not opposed to intel, and i'll do some looking around at comparable intel chips.

With CPUs so cheap nowadays, I think the only market where AMD still dominates in the price/performance ratio is the budget market.

I had one other question, however. I had always been an Athlon user, but have read some stuff that suggests that the Opteron series might actually be a better chip, even for gaming. Did I read this wrong or is this correct?

For overclocking, quite possibly, but as far as speed goes, they are virtually the same processor with one difference. The Opteron has more noncoherent HT links for better multiprocessor scaling than the Athlons.

The reason I was suggesting a 700watt power supply, well, I have heard some rumors in the past that the new video cards coming out were power hogs, and that to run them, and the rest of your system, you needed to have a pretty power supply of power. I may not opt for the 700w, but I have been looking at the 500w supplies, both the antec and corsair look good.

Unless you are planning to build some uber godly quad video card setup or using a subzero cooling system, you do NOT need a 700 watt PSU. Put it this way: an 8800GTX SLI setup with an overclocked quad core processor consumes less than 450 watts of power at full load. There are rumors that the next generation video card from nVidia will draw less power than the current G80s. Unless you plan to build a system with the above mentioned features, I highly doubt your system will pull more than 500 watts.

[s37]

well, looking at newegg, the price difference here is kind of noticeable.

When comparing 3Ghz processors of AMD and Intel, it seems that AMD has a very wide margin of cost.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6400CZWOF - Retail - $254

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail - $170

both are dual core windsors, both have 2000Mhz HT, but the 6000+ looks to have 2x128Kb of Level 1 cache as well as the 2MB of level 2 cache.

Now, the comparable 3Ghz Intel processors, Intel only has one:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail - $299

this processor has a 1333 Mhz FSB, is dual core, 2x32Kb L1 cache and 4Mb shared L2 cache.

all of the comparable intel processors, in the same price range are of the 2.2Ghz to 2.6Ghz range, and all of them do not include hyper transport support, where both of the AMD counterparts do.

Now, i'll be the first to admit, I don't know as much about computers as the rest of you, which is why I come here for advice

I'm counting on you folks to enlighten me as to which processor is on top of the game in todays market. I have read a review by AnAndTech which shows the AMD processor winning in almost all tests that were ran. Then I read an article on Xbit.com that showed the intel processors winning on all tests. The point here is that you cant really depend on independant studies, because they will all come to different conclusions, as I have seen in the tests that have been run. Also, there is alot of bias in these "testing and comparison" websites.

This is why I think it is a good idea to come to places where people with real world experience can share their information with you, so that i will be able to make a more informed decision.

So, with that said, if there is something about the intel chips, though they are lower in clock frequency, cache and a few other things, that makes them perform on par or above their AMD counterparts, I could use some info on that. Basically, i'm just going on speed and price, and to me, from what I have seen, the AMD chips seem to have the faster chips at lower prices.

Appreicate your time in helping me, and could use any more input that you may have

[SRTDodge05]

Price on the intel is high because it just cameout. AMD is good for a low budget build. Intel is good for middle level and high end systems. Nothing wrong with amd if you like old technology.

[CK8-04]

You have to remember that Intel's C2Ds are faster clock for clock than AMD's parts. This article should help clarify a bit. Also, AMD has pretty much reached the end of the line on how much more speed they can squeeze out of the X2 processors. Intel, on the other hand, has a lot more room which means more overclocking potential.

[SRTDodge05]

Intel is sweet for overclocking.

[darkstar_abx]

I strongly suggest the ASUS Crosshair if you are still looking.

And I won't try to tell you Intel is better.